A post on the Call of Duty Community Website outlines details on PC online security, matchmaking and servers in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Treyarch's upcoming military shooter sequel. Here's a handy summary of key points courtesy of One Of Swords, where there's also a discussion of some of the negative backlash this has inspired:

All servers are dedicated servers, used for public matchmaking and league play.

There will be servers located around the globe.

You can’t rent a dedicated server; they’re just free for your use.

Anti-cheat is handled via VAC + Treyarch’s own proprietary tech working in tandem.

Treyarch has a “full-time dedicated anti-cheat team” to police the servers.

Server files will not be made available to the public. Treyarch runs them.

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

Why the fuck are you always apologizing for every thing the game industry does? Do you fucking work for EA or something? Activision? WTF is your malfunction here fucknuts? You look around and like what you see? Are you really that fucking shallow and easy to please? If so, please DO fuck off and allow people with actual feelings to discuss this shit. FUCK OFF!

Could you be any more of a drama queen? Same for the people you're defending. Just because he doesn't by into the circle jerk on hating publishers because "WAHH they're gonna take down your servers to make you buy new versions". This rarely happens and if it ever has, it's barely relevant. Seems like you all just take pleasure in making shit up to get mad about.

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

Why the fuck are you always apologizing for every thing the game industry does? Do you fucking work for EA or something? Activision? WTF is your malfunction here fucknuts? You look around and like what you see? Are you really that fucking shallow and easy to please? If so, please DO fuck off and allow people with actual feelings to discuss this shit. FUCK OFF!

Could you be any more of a drama queen? Same for the people you're defending. Just because he doesn't by into the circle jerk on hating publishers because "WAHH they're gonna take down your servers to make you buy new versions". This rarely happens and if it ever has, it's barely relevant. Seems like you all just take pleasure in making shit up to get mad about.

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

Why the fuck are you always apologizing for every thing the game industry does? Do you fucking work for EA or something? Activision? WTF is your malfunction here fucknuts? You look around and like what you see? Are you really that fucking shallow and easy to please? If so, please DO fuck off and allow people with actual feelings to discuss this shit. FUCK OFF!

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

Why the fuck are you always apologizing for every thing the game industry does? Do you fucking work for EA or something? Activision? WTF is your malfunction here fucknuts? You look around and like what you see? Are you really that fucking shallow and easy to please? If so, please DO fuck off and allow people with actual feelings to discuss this shit. FUCK OFF!

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

Why the fuck are you always apologizing for every thing the game industry does? Do you fucking work for EA or something? Activision? WTF is your malfunction here fucknuts? You look around and like what you see? Are you really that fucking shallow and easy to please? If so, please DO fuck off and allow people with actual feelings to discuss this shit. FUCK OFF!

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

My thoughts exactly. You want multiplayer after the release of the next CoD? Well, buy our new game because we're taking the servers for the old game offline.

Have we ever had a person here actively playing a game that got taken offline?It's always several-years-old sports games and games no one purchased. If you take down what people do play they won't buy the next one, like a dog that's been kicked. For all of EAs crap, at least they do wait until no one plays a game.

ASeven wrote on Sep 29, 2012, 16:35:Simple, because of the precedent made by this and the effect it will have with other control hungry publishers.

Oh okay then. Continue to stay pissed off. It's a good state of mind to be in, especially with regards to an entertainment hobby like gaming.

RailWizard wrote on Sep 29, 2012, 21:11:So they can kill the servers when it's time for you to buy BO3.

They don't need to run every single server in the world to be able to shut it down at any time. They can always just tell GSPs to pull the servers, even those that are rented out. Put it in the licensing contract on release, give a month's notice to them and users and that's it. Running every server seems like a very expensive way to go about achieving that goal. Also worth pointing out that the COD5 master authentication server is still up, as are Black Ops servers, so it doesn't seem like they're in a hurry to kill off their old games.

I wonder if they actually believe that running the servers themselves will be an effective way to combat hacking, because it sure as hell won't be.

Some of the most miserable and unhappy gamers on the planet are at Bluesnews

ASeven wrote on Sep 29, 2012, 14:32:They keep taking away more and more and keep giving nothing in return. Now people can't even rent the servers. Fuck me, publishers only want more and more control.

And this game will be riddled with cheaters, even more than BO1 since I don't believe Activision would hire people to monitor each server at all. This means that without admins, which at least could kick and ban, now nobody will be watching cheaters. Anyone believing otherwise is the most naive person on earth, much like DICE said they would take care of cheaters on BF3.

Also, the announcement sounds as if there will not even be a server browser but instead we'll be connected to a server through matchmaking. Since BO1 was a buggy game from the start I can't wait to see people getting connected to servers halfway across the world.

Ah well, I stopped buying CoD with CoD4. Damn, this pisses me off.

Eactly all of this. I am done with Cod. Havent played for a while anyway. Got tired of all of the aimbots that no one does anything about. Shit. If a kid can go to a website and download an aimbot via Google, you would think they could stop that code prety easily....but they don't care.

This seems odd. Treyarch would rather pay for every single dedicated server in the world instead of just letting users rent them from GSPs? What could be the reason behind this?

Possibly an attempt at planned obsolescence, like EA does with its sports franchises.

If the publisher control the servers, they can shut them down when Black Ops 3 comes out. If the consumers control the servers, people can keep playing the same game year after year.

Especially since there seems to be an increasingly growing awareness that the Call of Duty series *is* the same game year after year. Already people are comparing the various Call of Duty games to each other, and debating which ones are the most fun. There has to be some worry within Activision that they are starting to compete with themselves. Their increasingly rigid control of the market may be an attempt to "solve" the problem.

ChopperDan wrote on Sep 29, 2012, 13:27:With the cheaters running so rampant in the other CoD's I think it's a good idea. If they have control over all of the servers, they can put a stop to all the assholes faster at least thats how i am viewing it.

Yea but can the Treyarch support team do a better job than admins who paid for the server? That's up for debate. Treyarch has to look out for hundreds or thousands of servers, a renting admin only has to look out for his own.